David Cameron blinked—as it was always likely he would. The British Prime Minister had spent the last two months engaged in an ill-judged attempt to head off an electoral threat from the rabidly anti-European Union, anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party by parading his own anti-immigration credentials.

The theme of my Europe File column Monday (and many columns before that) was that Europe needs a reformation if it is to avoid revolution at the hands of populist parties. It took the pope of all people to drive this message home in a speech to the European Parliament on Tuesday. “The great ideas that once inspired Europe seem to have lost their attraction, only to be replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions,” Pope Francis said. It is certainly ironic that the leader of the Catholic Church, an institution whose cronyism, corruption and capture by vested interests sparked the Reformation in the 16th century and which for centuries was seen as an enemy of progressive ideas, should now be speaking out so powerfully against the moral decay that is crippling Europe today.

I’ve written a number of columns over the last two months on the growing rift between Mario Draghi and Germany, for example here and here. Now Reuters has published a detailed report that provides plenty of fresh color on the deteriorating relationship, not least between the European Central Bank president and Jens Weidmann, the president of Germany’s Bundesbank, which is said to be “totally rotten, broken beyond repair.” The risks arising from this rift cannot be overstated.

Brussels can breathe a sigh of relief. A crisis has been averted. Harmony has been restored. France has submitted a draft budget for scrutiny by the European Commission as required under the eurozone’s Fiscal Pact—and what’s more, it is fully compliant with the rules. Or at least, it would be if you allow for a few adjustments that Paris believes the commission should take into account.

In the end, the vote was decisive. Scotland has opted by a margin of 55% to 45% to keep the pound, keep the queen and stay in the European Union. They did so by voting to remain in the United Kingdom, although Scottish First Minister Alec Salmond had assured them that they could have all these things by voting for independence. The No campaign was sufficiently effective in raising the specter of economic chaos and isolation from the European club that a majority of voters opted for the status quo.

Ireland’s blowout second-quarter growth figures are more than just a domestic achievement. The wider political significance of this result shouldn’t be overlooked. Impressively—and in defiance of the global conventional wisdom—this recovery has taken place against a backdrop of one of the eurozone’s largest fiscal consolidations

For anyone who cares about Europe’s economic future, the latest QS World University rankings make depressing reading. This respected survey ranks universities according to a range of factors such as reputation and research citations. And this year’s table should ring alarm bells in many countries.

Jean-Claude Juncker is a canny operator. Even his critics concede that the former Luxembourg prime minister is an impressive deal-maker. The same skills that secured him the job of European Commission president were on display on Wednesday as he announced the line-up of his team. His proposed Commission—it must still be ratified by the European Parliament—is a clever piece of political positioning that more or less offers something to everyone.

“We think we should state things as they are,” Mario Draghi said Thursday in response to a question about whether central bankers should sometimes avoid telling the truth in case they make things worse. But was the European Central Bank chief really being as straight as he claimed?